When this season began, the Rangers were considered a frontrunning contender to compete for the Stanley Cup. Their offense — already boasting two of the game’s all-time great scorers, Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan — was further bolstered with the additions of high-profile free-agent centers Scott Gomez and Chris Drury. In goal — with two-time Vezina Trophy finalist Henrik Lundqvist embarking on his third season — the Blueshirts appeared to be set.

However, things didn’t go as planned. In fact, they weren’t close. For the season’s first two months, the Rangers’ style was reminiscent of their cross-river rivals, the Devils. Stingy defense was their trademark, not explosive offense, and they were at the top of the league in goals against (and the bottom in goals scored) when November came to an end. But ugly performances through December and the first half of January caused more than a few bandwagoners to jump ship, and for the first time in his brief Rangers career, there were some chinks in Lundqvist’s armor. Suddenly, the Rangers seemed as likely to conduct a fire sale as to pursue the missing ingredients needed for a Cup run, with rumors swirling that Jagr could be dealt away. But their recent strong play has raised their status back to that of legitimate contender, setting up what will be a very interesting few weeks leading up to the February 26th trade deadline.

Indeed, the general manager, Glen Sather, finds himself in a quandary. The Eastern Conference is wide open, and a deep playoff run would generate tremendous interest in the Rangers. And owner James Dolan — whose Knicks are the NBA’s laughingstock — would certainly like to see the Rangers make some serious noise in the postseason, if only to distract attention from the Knicks’ foibles.

But while those factors all support the pursuit of a trade — perhaps for the unrestricted free agent to be on the Atlanta Thrashers, Marian Hossa, or for veteran Los Angeles Kings rearguard Rob Blake — there are some very good reasons why the Blueshirts should instead stand pat, choosing instead more modest options that don’t require sacrificing the future. This is because the team’s recent turnaround has been sparked not by Jagr or Shanahan, but by its more youthful core. Drury is playing his best hockey of the season, developing some nice chemistry on a line with Petr Prucha and Nigel Dawes. And after scoring four goals and two assists in four games last week, Drury was named the NHL’s “third star” for the week. Brandon Dubinsky’s scored only 22 points in 55 games, but glimpses of his great potential are increasingly frequent. Selected in the second round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Dubinsky is on a rapid upward trajectory and is emerging as a reliable second-line option.

On defense, Marc Staal is well on his way to becoming the team’s best backliner. With his unique blend of size and skill, Staal is demonstrating some wonderful hockey sense and on-ice vision. Of the 11 players selected before him in the 2005 draft, only Sidney Crosby can unequivocally be considered more valuable to his team than Staal already has become to the Rangers.

Certainly, it would be tempting to bring a player like Hossa or Blake aboard to heighten the team’s Cup hopes. But if such a move were to come at the expense of a key building block, Sather should resist the temptation. In the salary-capped NHL, the accumulation of top young talent is mission-critical. It’s why the Ducks were able to win the Cup last season despite having a huge percentage of their payroll dedicated to three players (Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere), and it’s the right template for the Rangers to follow.

Until recently, goaltending prospect Al Montoya appeared to be one of the Rangers’ most valuable trade chips. But with Lundqvist’s recent struggles, Sather should be a bit less willing to part with the charismatic Montoya. Top-notch franchise goalies are the NHL’s rarest commodity, and only a handful of netminders are consistently excellent, year in and year out. One need look only at the turnstile that is the Philadelphia Flyers’ goal crease to see just how difficult it is to achieve stability at that position.

Before they trade Montoya, it would behoove them to see whether he might in fact be a better long-term option than Lundqvist, as heretical as that thought might have seemed back in November. Likewise, though Staal is developing nicely, he’s more of an all-around blueliner than a power play quarterback. And so, when teams come calling for prospect Bobby Sanguinetti — a defense prospect with tremendous offensive upside — Sather should resist the urge to deal him for a short-term roster fix.

The last 10 years haven’t been easy for Rangers fans, but the team is now unquestionably moving in the right direction. In Sunday’s win over Montreal, nine of the Rangers’ starters were age 25 or younger. And considering that this youth movement has been described without mention of 2007 first-round pick Alexei Cherepanov — perhaps the best young player in the Russian Super League — it’s clear standing pat is the right course of action. There’s no guarantee that the aged Blake will be any more effective in than the surprising Daniel Girardi, nor that the enigmatic Hossa would even outperform his younger Ranger brother Marcel as the Cup gets closer and the checking tighter.

The Rangers’ enviable combination of top-tier youth and financial flexibility is an advantage that shouldn’t be squandered under any circumstances. Of course, it’s certainly possible that they’ll emerge as the team to beat in the Eastern Conference, especially given this season’s never-before-seen parity. And there’s every reason to believe that a red-hot Lundqvist is all the Rangers would need to capture the Cup in June. But sacrificing what has the potential to be a dynastic future for such a risky speculation would fly in the face of the intelligent roster management that’s defined this new-era Rangers team. And for this reason, staying the course is the only acceptable game plan.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.